LONDON— On the same day as his last public blessing Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI confronted the threat of a fresh scandal within the church hierarchy, with Vatican officials informing him of new allegations that Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric had engaged in inappropriate behavior with priests.

In Britain, the accusations against Cardinal Keith O’Brien – head of the church in Scotland and one of this nation’s most strident opponents of gay rights—were already escalating into a national controversy. The controversy revolved around a report first published Saturday night on the Web site of Britain’s Observer newspaper, saying that four men – three current and one former priest — had denounced O’Brien earlier this month for engaging in “inappropriate” and “intimate” behavior. Through a spokesman, O’Brien denied the charges and was said he was seeking legal counsel. [...]

[O]ne of the alleged victims claimed O’Brien had instigated a “relationship” with him in the 1980s that resulted in the need for long-term counseling. Another of the men said O’Brien had initiated “inappropriate contact” during nightly prayers, according to the paper.

O’Bigot O'Brien has referred to marriage equality as a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right” and has let it be known that he thinks gays are immoral.

But "inappropriate, intimate" behavior with men of the cloth works for him. During prayer time. Got it.